Southwest, AirTran Fly Into Merger Problems

The airline-merger gremlins have started to frustrate travelers at Southwest and AirTran airlines.

This week’s Middle Seat reports on problems travelers have encountered as the two discount airlines, which are No. 1 in domestic passengers carried, have begun splicing together their flight schedules this year.

Travelers say Southwest Airlines agents struggle with AirTran Airways tickets and vice versa, sometimes leaving passengers who have been delayed and need rebooking in the lurch. Different prices and seat availability sometimes show up for the same flight on Southwest’s and AirTran’s online sites. Buying early boarding privileges on Southwest doesn’t get you early boarding on connecting AirTran flights. Frequent-flier credits remain separate, and Southwest companion passes, awarded to top frequent fliers, can’t be used on AirTran.

The Southwest-AirTran merger may seem small and simple considering the corporate marriages of bigger, more-complex international carriers like US Airways and American Airlines, United-Continental and Delta-Northwest. But Southwest is at a big disadvantage: Its homegrown reservation system needs major help to handle code-sharing of flights with AirTran plus AirTran’s international flights. So while Southwest is busing replacing AirTran, it also is replacing much of Southwest, in terms of reservation and passenger handling systems.

Those computer systems are the most difficult part of any airline merger, executives say. For now, Southwest is running two computer systems on different screens for airport agents, and is essentially running two separate airlines. Customers are getting frustrated as they run into some brick walls between the two airlines.

As the merger starts its third year, the story shows what’s ahead, and where customer frustrations are rising.

Comments (5 of 26)

SWA booking with AirTran service... boarding pass with seat assignment for me but not traveling companion on same reservation. Told by SWA and AirTran to get new seats together at gate. What a mess! And I'm A-List member. They also stopped non-stops PHL-FLL. Taking my business elsewhere, sadly.

5:38 pm July 19, 2013

Joan wrote :

Beidup....sounds like you know a lot about legacy carriers. I think that is great that SWA never has weather delays. Those pilots are like "John Wayne" just fly through it gritting their teeth.

4:42 pm July 19, 2013

Mike C wrote :

Always been happy with SWA.

9:45 am July 19, 2013

Beidup wrote :

All you SWA bashers. Please STAY OFF our airline. Stay with your endless flight delays, completely retarded and primitive boarding porcedures and unconfortable small jets. And let's not forget the Nazi flight attendents! Assigned seating is STUPID. I just love it when two 300 lbs guys have to sit next to each other on a cramped 70 seat jet. All you United, Delta, Alaska people, you just keep buying overpriced tickets so that maybe someday, after about 20 cramped and LATE flights, you can sit in FIRST CLASS for an hour. Oh lucky you! You're are so smart!

6:15 am July 19, 2013

Computer problems grow! wrote :

Last night (7-18-13) for flight 1380 from Baltimore to Columbus, many passengers were assigned the same boarding position. We had to present our ticket for bar code scanning to board and see if it was accepted or not. Many then had to get on a line to have one of the customer service representatives issue new tickets. we arrived nearly an hour late.

The people I spoke with were Southwest passengers and had not flown part of their trip on AirTran. There were weather challenges this day but it was clear that the CSRs were having trouble getting their computers to assign seats. It appears that Southwest IT is imploding!

If you want to arrive on time and be treated with respect - you might want to consider another airline.

About The Middle Seat Terminal

Scott McCartney writes The Middle Seat every Thursday. The Wall Street Journal’s Travel Editor, Scott has been on the airline beat since 1995 — long enough to see it go from bust to boom and back to bust. He also writes a blog on travel at The Middle Seat Terminal.

Scott won the Online News Association award for online commentary in 2003 for “The Middle Seat,” the George Polk Award for transportation reporting in 2000, and has been honored by the Deadline Club and New York’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Before joining the Journal in 1993, he spent 11 years at The Associated Press.

Scott, a native of Boston and graduate of Duke University, is the author of four books, includingThe Wall Street Journal Guide to Power Travel: How to Arrive with Your Dignity, Sanity, and Wallet Intact, which was published in 2009. He’s also an instrument-rated private pilot.